Friday, 31 January 2014

CK One Mascara

As part of Ulta's birthday gift to Ulta Rewards Members (which totally blows Sephora's birthday gift for Beauty Insiders out of the water, by the way) I received a full-sized CK One Mascara. The other component to the birthday gift, for those wondering, is a voucher for $10 off of any purchase (not bad, eh?) Anyways, until receiving this mascara I had not tried anything from the CK One beauty line that was introduced at Ulta earlier this year, so this excited me both because it was free and because it gave me an opportunity to try out a new brand.

This sticker arrived on the mascara, providing instructionson how to change the wand around

The novelty of the CK One Mascara is that by turning the top of the wand, you can rearrange the bristles from straight to curved. In theory this will help you achieve different eyelash looks, depending on how you use the brush. My initial impression of this was that it is quite unique, but also gimmicky. I'm not even exactly sure what 'look' one gets from using a mascara brush with straight bristles versus twisty ones! But, hey, free is free and I thought I would give it a try.

Straight Bristles

Curved Bristles

On my first usage of this mascara, my initial impression was that I didn't like it. I then gave it a few days before I tried it again and upon my second use, I started to think that I was wrong and that this could be a good mascara afterall. But after another few weeks of testing out the CK One mascara, I've concluded that this isn't the mascara for me. While it's not terrible and it might work very well for some, I highly doubt I would repurchase it--and for a could of reasons, I might discontinue use sooner than later.

I find that the best method for application is to apply one coat of mascara with straight bristles, then to twist the wand and apply a second coat. The good features of this mascara is that it holds a curl very well and I didn't have any problem whatsoever with flaking or smudging. The big downside is that it is extremely difficult to remove and I fear it is damaging the condition of my lashes. Neither my Clinique Take the Day Off Balm or my NUDE Skincare Cleansing Oil are able to take this off completely. And even following up with a micellar water doesn't remove 100% of this mascara. To top that off, my vigorous mascara removal has led to the loss of a couple of eyelashes each day.

Adding insult to injury is the fact that this mascara clumps on me in a big way. It also doesn't do anything spectacular for length. And at $18, I have to regretfully conclude that this is likely to be my one and only encounter with this mascara.

But, with that said, if you are in need of a very durable mascara, I imagine this would hold up to water, sweat, heat, humidity, and whatever else you could throw at it. That might make it an excellent mascara to use on special occasions. Either way, be sure to sign up for the Ulta Rewards Programme so you can get this mascara as a birthday treat!

Have you encountered any mascaras recently that you like? I'm always on the lookout for the next great thing!